Isaac glanced at his best friend. He was not particularly excited about the idea of being merged, even with his best friend. The idea of disappearing from the world, into some combination of himself and Julian... His heart began to beat faster. He felt the pounding in his ears, and his palms began to sweat. "We can still back out." Isaac said to his friend. "Ten thousand dollars from his father and uncle joining would help our income problem."
Julian gave a small smile in response. His friend had dark, almost black wavy hair. Betraying the smile, his light brown eyes portrayed the same fear that he felt.
Isaac knew it was an attempt at reassuring him, though the effort was pained. In truth, their unusual family was in deep debt. The money would help a lot, but with warnings of a foreclosure and the bank becomming involved... Ten thousand dollars was not enough. Isaac combed fingers through his dirty blonde hair.
"It will only be temporary..." Julian finally said after several long moments. "After a few months of collecting data, we'll be back to our separate selves." His friend sounded like was trying to convince himself as much as Isaac.
There was truth in the statement though. The researchers had reiterated the ad's claims that they would be paid the money upfront for the participation in the six-month experiment, and then separated at the end. Their composite self would be enrolled into school while Isaac and Julian would be on a 'six-month' high school study abroad program. The company would handle the documents needed for enrollment and the eventual transfer of records to Julian and Isaac's transcripts. It was assured that they would not be be missing six months of school during the experiment as they would retain the memories of the composite person, and their records would show the 'grades' from their 'abroad school'.
After a heavy sigh, Isaac nodded. "Alright, lets do this before either of us get cold feet." He stretched out his fist, and Julian promptly bumped with his own. "Here's to Isalian!"
"Juliac!" Julian retorted.
"Whatever, I'm sure we'll figure it out in our shared headspace." Isaac replied.
The two high school friends stripped down per the researcher's directions, and then laid beside each other in the same white, stiff bed. Two identical machines were wheeled out. They resembled dumbbells with one side missing a weight. The machines were placed on either side of the boys. Isaac slipped his left hand into the closest one, and his friend slipped his right into the other.
The researchers seemed to press a few keys into the terminals. The device latched on tightly to Isaac's arm; he flinched at the sudden pressure surrounding his arm. It did not hurt, but his arm was firmly stuck inside the device.
"Sorry, I should have warned you boys." The researcher closest to Julian spoke. "The Fusioneer's teeth are a tight fit."
"Fusioneer's teeth... what a friendly name..." Julian whispered to Isaac. Despite his best attempt, Isaac would not stop a smile from forming.
The device then extended outward and encased the two on either side, latching onto their respective right and left sides. Isaac was pushed uncomfortably into his friend. "Are you going to knock us out for the procedure?" Isaac asked, suddenly wondering why they were awake. He had assumed that they would be put to sleep or something.
The same researcher answered, "Sorry kids, the experimental concoctions can be finicky, so nothing new can be added to mix. No sleeping drugs and not pain killers, but thankfully the process does not really hurt."
Isaac shuddered. "Great..." he whispered. They would be awake for the whole thing; he felt his heart begin to beat quickly again. Isaac then felt his friend grip his right hand.
"It'll be totally fine." Julian said, attempting at reassuring him.
"Alright, we are ready to begin the procedure." The researcher spoke before the loud humming of the two devices began.
Almost instantly, Isaac felt the prick, of what seemed like millions of needles, sink into his left arm, side, and leg. His free hand gripped onto Julian's tighter. For a few moments, each of their grips, like vices, held fast to each other's hands, but then, Isaac felt something strange. His grip lessened. His hand seemed to became soft. He dared a glance, craning his neck to see his right hand. It was gone, having become some amalgamation of clay with Julian's left hand. Then the pushing began. The device encasing his left arm began to push him into his friend. Isaac's hip was no longer pressed harshly into his friend, it had blended into it.
Isaac's eyes widened at the clay-like substance his body seemed to become. He had to divert his gaze back to ceiling. He did not want to risk releasing the bile he felt looming in his stomach. Isaac closed his eyes, trying to ignore the sensation of being pushed into his friend. He could not ignore the feeling of his right leg, seemingly disappearing into his friend. This followed by his abdomen and chest. He felt his chest unevenly rise from a hasty breathe, not his own.
All the while, the machine seemed to enclose them on either side, tightening its own grip. It felt like Isaac might be smothered, and painfully, the machine seemed to slow down. It like he was being squeezed. No longer did Isaac feel his clay-like body being forcefully blended. It felt like it had hardened.
"Gurrr..." He heard Julian groan beside him, seemingly sharing the pain.
Isaac struggled to breathe. It felt like he could not expand his chest cavity. The machine was pushing too hard on all sides. He saw blackness encroach from the sides of his vision. He was going to black out.
Mercifully, the pressure disappeared, and the machine pulled away. Isaac took in a shaky breathe, air refilled his lungs. His arm was released, and he placed his left palm over clammy face. He was drenched in sweat. "Wh-what is going on?" He asked aloud.
"Did it work?" He heard Julian say beside him.
Isaac smiled and turned to face his friend. The experiment must have been reversed for some reason. Or maybe the six months was up. His face pressed into his friend's equally sweaty one. Isaac pulled away, but felt a strange resistance along his collarbone. "What?" He asked again, more confused. He began to feel an unusual sensation along the length of his body, or lack their of as his brain began to correct. It was like his body was cut in half, stopping someone where along his chest and abdomen.
Isaac craned his neck again and was thankful to see a complete body laying on the bed. He felt the breathe of his friend against his cheek. Wish a sudden realization, he felt the blood leave his face and he shivered, and only half of the body shuddered. "Oh shit! What happened to us!" Isaac yelled as his gaze shifted to his friend. The fusion process had not been reversed, it had been interrupted. He and Julian were sharing a body.